One Of A Kind '05 Mini Cooper Jcw 19k Miles on 2040-cars

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Mini might build a sedan because it's running out of shapes

Rumors suggest we could soon see a Mini with a trunk to haul your junk. Autocar cites unnamed insiders who claim the sedan is part of the brand's plan for upmarket growth. There's even a possibility the new model could use the Riley moniker in reference to the Elf (pictured above) from the 1960s, which was a Mini with a tiny trunk. The Mini sedan would use BMW's front-wheel-drive platform that underpins the X1 and Clubman and might share the wheelbase and frontend styling with the Clubman as well, according to Autocar. Mini's execs think the four-door would perform especially well in North America and China, where there's less demand for hatchbacks. Ralph Mahler, vice president of Mini's product management, hinted at the possibility of the four-door to Autocar. "For example, in Asia and the US, the sedan segment is very big. This is very interesting to us, of course," he said. Mahler admits that many people don't know about the Mini-based vehicles with trunks from the '60s, like the Riley Elf, so it would be hard to market the new model on that heritage. This could be the perfect time to add a Mini sedan to the lineup, and it might not be a completely new idea for the brand under its BMW stewardship; a rumor from 2012 shows that Mini's bosses considered a four-door at least once before. The company launched new versions of its Hardtop, Convertible, and Clubman, and even added four-door and all-wheel-drive versions of the Hardtop to further blur the lines between that car, the Clubman, and the Countryman. The next-generation Countryman crossover should debut later this year, and the brand reportedly cancelled the Superleggera Vision roadster and Rocketman compact, as Mini has chosen to go big with its new models and its lineup breadth. There are only so many versions of a hatchback a company can make, and the short-lived Mini Coupe wasn't exactly a huge success. If Mini is going to try a new body style, a sedan actually makes some sense, even if we'll probably prefer the look and practicality of the hatches. Related Video:

Next Mini Convertible spotted on flatbed truck

Mini is well underway testing the third-generation of its four-place Cooper Convertible, as evidenced by these photos, showing the new droptop riding along on a flatbed.
Codenamed the F57 - as opposed to the "F56" designation for the Hardtop - the Convertible will ride on the same UKL front-drive architecture that will underpin its hardtop brother, not to mention its German cousins, the BMW 1 Series GT and X1. According to our spies, it'll share more than a few of the BMW i's lightweight technologies and will include such advanced features as electronically adjustable dampers. That seems like some high-dollar tech for a droptop Mini, but we'd be quite happy to see it arrive all the same.
From the beltline down, we can expect the Convertible to feature almost identical styling to the Hardtop. Based on the spy photos, there's not a lot to see above the belt line, either. The roof carries roughly the same shape, and will probably fold in a similar Z-pattern to the current canvas top.

Mini goes all Occulus Rift with Augmented Vision glasses [w/video]

If April Fools' Day hadn't already passed, this might have come off as a joke. For the upcoming Shanghai Motor Show, Mini has a prototype for an augmented reality system, and the tech looks absolutely bizarre. Developed in conjunction with Qualcomm, driver's don goggles that look like a cross between Google Glass and something a World War I aviator might wear, and being behind the wheel suddenly becomes almost like a video game. Called Augmented Vision, some of its features are similar to contemporary HUD systems, with displays of vehicle speed and navigation data, but this literally puts the info right in front of the driver's eye. There're sci-fi features too, like displaying floating arrows on the road to indicate where to turn to reach a destination, and perhaps coolest of all, the X-ray view lets you look through the car's doors and pillars to see outside. As a prototype, we wonder how much of this is nearly possible today and what's pure fantasy. See Mini's idea for the future of motoring for yourself in the clip below. Hopefully, we don't all have to wear such goofy looking glasses foe future tech, though. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. MINI AUGMENTED VISION: A REVOLUTIONARY DISPLAY CONCEPT OFFERING ENHANCED COMFORT AND SAFETY. Exclusive prototype of augmented reality eyewear underlines the innovative flair and creativity of the MINI brand. Munich, Germany, April 9, 2015. MINI is revealing the shape of things to come at the Auto Shanghai show with a pioneering innovation. "MINI Augmented Vision gives an insight into how intelligent connectivity between a MINI car and eyewear into which relevant content is projected might work in the future," explains Dr. Jorg Preissinger, project-manager MINI Augmented Vision, BMW Group research and technology. "Working with several Qualcomm companies, we have created an interlinked system and augmented reality eyewear with a characteristic MINI design that revolutionise the experience both in and outside the vehicle. This prototype with its customised, interactive functions succeeds in fusing augmented reality with the brand's trademark sense of lifestyle." Using see-through technology, the AR eyewear shows relevant information in the driver's direct field of vision but without concealing other road users, thereby serving to increase safety and comfort while driving.